After its release by the Animals in 1965, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s song “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” became an anthem for American soldiers in Vietnam—for obvious reasons:

“We gotta get out of this place!

If it’s the last thing we ever do.

We gotta get out of this place!

Girl, there’s a better life for me and you.”

But the song isn’t about soldiers stuck in a war zone. The verses lament being trapped in a dirty city, in a dead-end job, and growing old before your time. No wonder 45 years after its release “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” continues to resonate with workers around the world.

Have you been feeling desperate to get out of your job lately but trapped by an unstable economy and limited alternatives? If you can pinpoint why you want to leave, maybe you can find a way to make your job bearable, at least for the time being. Consider these possibilities:

• You feel unappreciated. When workers voluntarily leave their employment, they consistently name lack of appreciation as their chief reason for resigning. Companies could easily cut turnover by implementing recognition and reward programs—and training supervisors to say thanks. But many can’t grasp this concept. Bonuses and merit pay increases are more tangible signs of appreciation, but they’re often the first things to be cut when the economy stalls.

So if your boss isn’t the thank-you type and your company can’t afford to demonstrate more tangible appreciation, how can you get the positive reinforcement you crave?

1. Ask for it. Schedule an appointment with your boss to ask if there are any problems with your performance, try to solicit positive comments about your contribution, and seek reassurance that you’ll be considered for a promotion, bonuses, or other tangible rewards when the time comes.

2. Give it. If your boss isn’t one to praise others, then why don’t you start looking for opportunities to recognize your coworkers’ efforts? The positive feelings you generate for others will begin to flow back to you.

• You see no future in your current job. Your company doesn’t offer the kind of growth opportunities that will take you where you hope to be in your career. So your job appears to be a dead end, but no other opportunities exist in the current economic climate. How can you keep moving forward? By providing your own training opportunities. Be sure to take advantage of all available in-house training sessions, including brown-bag lectures or open seminars being conducted by other departments. Ask about the possibility of cross-training so you can expand your skills and learn some of the other jobs within your department. Participate in any available online courses. And be sure to pick the brains of the most talented people on the staff. Track everything you learn in a journal that you can use to expand your résumé when the time comes.

• You feel like an outsider.For some reason, you don’t seem to blend with the workplace culture or mesh with your colleagues. And you’re miserable. You can’t change who you are or who they are. So if leaving isn’t an option, try getting to know one person at a time rather than trying to “join” the group. Don’t pry into other people’s personal lives or share too much of your own. Don’t gossip about coworkers or complain about work. Be pleasant and try to find areas of common interest. Once you become comfortable with one person, it will be easier to build relationships with others.